Vanilla Bean - Two Harbors

We had an incredible breakfast at Vanilla Bean in Two Harbors. The crêpes were out of this world!! They were light, perfectly made, and paired with a jam so delicious I ended up buying a jar to take home! I genuinely wanted to eat it by the spoonful! 😂 My husband couldn’t stop talking about the seasoning on the homemade fries/breakfast potatoes. They were crisp, flavorful, and honestly some of the best he’s had. Portion sizes were generous, especially for the price, which made the whole meal feel like an even better value. Our waitress Shelby was phenomenal! Very warm, attentive, and genuinely kind. She made the experience feel relaxed and welcoming from start to finish. If you’re anywhere near Two Harbors, this place is a must‑stop for breakfast. We’ll definitely be back.

We were staying in town and wanted to get brunch on Sunday but the places we were recommend had stopped serving breakfast already. Vanilla Bean was serving breakfast all day so we gave it a chance and it exceeded my expectations. The Blueberry Muffin Latte was better than I'd get from a coffee shop in Minneapolis, our omelets were amazing and it was the first time I've ever had home fried sweet potatoes which I highly recommend. I look forward to stopping in for another meal next time I'm visiting the north shore.

Food is amazing, as always. Wild Rice omelet and wild rice bread were incredible! Highly recommend the mint mocha! Service was really slow. Only 1 server who was also bussing tables and hosting. Bless her heart as she was busting her tail and doing great. Sad they didn't have another server to lighten the load. Won't stop me from visiting again!

Interesting menu with a lot of specialties. I really wanted to try wild rice porridge with Minnesota maple syrup. But had the portage omelette with wild rice and also tried the harvest hash with maple sweet potatoes. Choice of toast was cranberry wild rice. Really enjoyed the food and coffee here and would definitely stop back to try other options. Especially the features

On our way home from Grand Marais my wife and I stopped for breakfast on February 12. It was a weekday around 11:30, so immediate seating. Service was super quick, Aly (sp?) was our server. She was courteous, fun, and attentive. My wife had crepes, one of her faves. She commented how these were the best she's had in several years. I had buttermilk pancakes. Two cakes, each the size of the dinner plate, and a side of breakfast ham. You should know I am a french toast guy. That's not a menu offering at Vanilla Bean, and that's OK. I share that because I finished both pancakes, that's how freaking delicious they were. Perfectly browned, just enough crispness to keep everything intact for the meal. Though covered in fresh syrup, the cakes did not disintegrate into a paste. It was a marvel I haven't experienced before. In short, visit when you're in the area.

Came mid day on a Tuesday. Had to wait a little to be seated but it was well worth the wait. Pancakes were good and the Scandinavian breakfast (their own original creation) was amazing. Almost too delicious. Hot cocoa and hot apple cider made for the final touch. Overall would definitely recommend!

Delicious food and drinks, extremely kind staff, wonderful atmosphere... Couldn't ask for anything else. We were only in town for two nights and ended up eating here twice. And we'll definitely be back.

All around wonderful experience! Our server, Rose, was very welcoming as soon as we walked in and was like that with everyone she came across. Loved the menu and all the coffee options! Food was delicious Definitely will be back to this breakfast spot! Great, chill vibes ☮️🎶

Stopped by for brunch on a Saturday. The place is cute. My waitress Shauna was friendly and attentive. I ordered the cinammon dolce latte which was delicious. Felt like I was drinking dessert. I also got Scandinavian breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was fried bread pudding was filling. It came with choice of sausage, bacon. I got chicken sausage with fruit. Would recommend coming here.

Great place to eat and have coffee I've been there several times had a good convo with the chef about his amazing walleye sandwich!

This was nice; I stopped here for breakfast on my way back from camping a little further north, and I was very satisfied with my food. I decided to try the Pesto Eggs Benedict, which sounds like it might be weird except they use sausage instead of ham, and I was quickly reminded of the fact that sausage and pesto go great together. It was really good; they don't use too much pesto hollandaise and the sausage is very flavorful, so I could see myself ordering that again. It came with home fries, which were cooked well but I wished I'd gotten some sauce to swirl them in to give them some flavor. I also got a cafe mocha which was really perfect. They absolutely did not have sufficient coverage in the dining room. My server was friendly and was visibly working very hard, but it was impossible to flag her down for some more water and I had to wait longer than I wanted to for my check. I also overheard someone complaining that their check was incorrect. She took care of them; I'm just saying they definitely need more staff.

Cute little place, stopped on way north to Grand Marais from Twin Cities. Impressed enough to repeat on return, had the cranberry sandwich wild rice soyp combo, excellent but am on low sodium so it was a bit much. On return today did the bowl of soup and salad. Excellent stop, right on 61 in a 30 mph zone so easy to get in and out.

Cute spot in Two Harbors. My friends and I stopped here after a long hike on the SHT, so we were more than ready to eat. Our waiter was super sweet. He seemed new, but he was so kind and efficient. We all enjoyed his positivity. I ordered the HoneyBee Latte and their Classic Breakfast, which had eggs, sausage, toast, and hash browns. I'm a sucker for hash browns, so that's really what sold me. The food was delicious, hot, and fast. I was really appreciative of the fast aspect of it all, since as mentioned, we were quite hungry. I had no complaints, it was a solid classic breakfast. And it came at a really good price. I'd stop here again.

We visited for lunch 3 years ago prior to Thanksgiving. The ambiance was warm and comfortable on a cold day. Our server was knowledgeable and attentive. Our meal was good and of note was the wild rice chicken(?) soup. Really fantastic!

Outstanding service. Jo was the best. Food delicious and expensive. 10 tables. Very charming place. Great gift shop next door.

Stopped in with some family members to try the place out and was impressed by the quality of the food. The Castle Danger hash was very good. The potatoes were crispy and the corned beef was not dry or from a can like at most breakfast places. Our server was very polite and quick to accommodate our needs throughout the experience. A true classic northern Minnesota diner environment that I will definitely return to when visiting the area in the future.

Very good breakfast and many options that we don't see every day. I enjoyed the Swedish pancakes with lingonberry sauce. My dining partner had the wild rice porridge. We both totally enjoyed our breakfast. The coffee was good and the location is great.

From the moment we walked in, we were met with a poor attitude from the staff. Not a "hello" or any other kind of greeting- just after ordering a latte- "it'll be a while". Then food took a ver long time- had to ask the hostess - who was doing nothing but on her phone - for coffee warm ups... good food- horrible service.

My group of six ate lunch at Vanilla Bean in early October 2023 and we were so disappointed. The waitress was surly and rude from the first moment and none of us could figure out why. Everyone else in my party got their meals but mine took about 15 minutes longer. By the time I was served, everyone else was finished eating. My eggs Benedict arrived with huge pieces of egg shells and I had to send it back. The waitress was annoyed that there was a problem and didn't apologize for the mistake. I asked her for a sandwich to go so I could eat in the car and that took another 20 minutes. No apologies for the bad service or for the kitchen's mistake. Good thing: the food that we did eat was very good but not worth the bad attitude and service.

Looks like a nice place, so we went in. Unfriendly people! Staff seem angry here. Poor service!

Come on Yelp-I need another star for this STAR of Two Harbors! VB-2H was a recommendation & it was AMAZING! I'm a huge good oatmeal fan so I *thought* the porridge would be good...WRONG! It was OUTSTANDING! The cream, wild rice, hint of maple syrup, pecans & floating cranberries rocked my tastebuds! Grandma Bergman's Swedish pancakes with lingonberries was memorable and wonderful! The biscuits & gravy were different-but in a totally good way! Our service was good here (off season, we are tourists). We all had a good belly laugh when my server asked if I wanted whipped cream on my salted caramel latte (my response was "Do I look like I diet?"). While proofing this review, I realize that I left other great items (cranberry & wild rice toast, homemade preserves, sweet breakfast sausage, tap choices, adding a bump of liquor to your coffee, etc) out of my review. Your challenge is to visit Van Bean & find the other goodies I have left out!

Fun small cafe with all day breakfast. We both ordered omelets and what showed up was more of a frittata. Good food and delicious homemade blueberry jam. Other menu items looked good as well. Will plan to return again.

This review is only for the coffee to go. The coffee is gas station quality. Creamer is the shelf stable single serve. If you want coffee to go, you'll get the same quality at Holiday. The dining area looked clean and I can't comment on the food. Might be worth a stop for a meal.

Locally owned scratch cooking on the main drag; nice owners and staff. Sometimes a wait so go in the gift shop next door.

Review is much like the others... Decent food, slow and uninspired service. Took about ten minutes to get seated, even though the restaurant was about a 1/4 full. Another ten minutes to get our drink order. Bloody Mary was decent...love the combo of doughnut and bacon, but the bloody mix was average. Two of us got the "famous" baked omelettes, which is essentially an egg bake. Not bad by any means, but not memorable. I guess I wouldn't travel for it. My biggest issue was the service...from the time we walked in until we left was about 1.5 hours, which is crazy for just ordering breakfast food. Two parties actually walked in and left because they were waiting to long to be seated. Didn't seem to be the server's fault as he was the only one on shift.

We had a short 15 minute wait on a Sunday morning! What a great surprise. We ordered the wild rice porridge and Thunder Bay omelette. Large servings and very tasty. Neither of us could finish our entrees. Homemade jelly for the toast completed the breakfast. Staff were pleasant and service was prompt.

Food was pretty good. Service was awful. Our server seemed really rushed, was not welcoming at all. I tried going back a second time just for coffee to go and the experience was just as bad. The customers were the most pleasant thing about the place. Maybe they are short staffed but kindness isn't hard.

I had the wild rice burger and it was super! The kettle chips were fine- a touch salty. The coffee was not great. I had a latte and it was a bit weak. But I like my coffee strong. My companion had the cranberry bread club which she said was good, along with the sweet potato fries. Short wait for indoor service. Lots is social distancing. Good job.

Good food, but the coffee was pretty bad. Inexperienced waitress tried hard but didn't have it all together. Had breakfast and the eggs, hash browns and bacon were very good and the toast was excellent. I'd give it another try. They looked busy and shorthanded so that could explain the coffee sitting on the warmer too long. On Memorial Day it was about the only restaurant open in Two Harbors!

N O R T H S H O R E S T O P Here again, and darn glad I stopped here! This time I had the tasty chicken wild rice soup too.I liked the chicken shredded, but cubed was ok. The pecan/apple/bean side is a unique addition to any well crafted sandwich on the menu. My club on Cranberry Wild Rice toast was extra special, thanks to the simple addition of cucumber slices! Superb... STOP HERE INSTEAD OF ANYWHERE ELSE!

The service wasn't great the food was okay, the ladies working as servers seem like they maybe don't like their job. The older lady that works at the front with the short blonde hair was pretty nice though, she gave us a good laugh before we left

Wild Rice comes from a can. But they charge full price like they had made it themselves. Service is slow and servers are rude.

Sitting waiting for a table. 4 empty tables but staff is not filling them. I'd rather be sated at a table then see empty rables.

Wild rice porridge, French Toast and blueberry pancakes. We really enjoyed our breakfast here. That wild rice porridge, may look ugly but the taste was amazing. I had to go and buy wild rice to see if I can replicate the recipe.

Super yummy coffee, fast and friendly service. Atmosphere was great, not busy or loud at all when I was there. The food is what you'd expect, pretty typical diner/cafe food but delicious! You get what you order! Easy on the wallet as well! Andi was my server and was just lovely!

Hands down the BEST eggs Benedict I have ever had!!!! I got the pest eggs Benedict and it was delicious! We are visiting from the Twin Cities and this restaurant was the perfect start to our visit! It was a rustic little dinner with excellent service and even better food! Would recommend it to anyone visiting!

Best dishes: lingonberry swedish pancakes Wild rice cranberry porridge Avoid: poached eggs - they don't know how to make them. I had to spit them out. Never had to do that before with eggs.

Breakfast destination with clever, North Shore tailored offerings that make my mouth water simply to think of them. The food is fantastic. The staff is typically nice and always efficient. At times the latter may overrule the former and leave you with a churlish feeling. But, don't let that dissuade you from going. Embrace it as part of the local experience!

Very friendly people, very good food. Other reviews saying otherwise are just wrong, this is an excellent spot.

The food was great but the service was a tad rude. Overall a great bite to eat and is reasonably priced Food

Never Have I Ever is a fun game to play with both people you just met for the first time and with your close friends. Yesterday, while dining at The Vanilla Bean in Two Harbors, MN , my husband and young daughter had an experience that never will I ever want to experience again. We came in for lunch on a Saturday. The Vanilla Bean had three young adults sitting at a table and us. In other words, it was empty. The woman working the cash register, (older with short blond hair), has been there for many years. We know, we have been going to this place for a decade. The young adults got up to pay. As they left the woman at the register shouted "I guess some people don't believe in tipping", the young adults were still in the restaurant trying to exit. The woman then became more upset and yelled " I should be giving each of you the finger." OK. Really? Really? I understand that all hospitality workers rely on tips for the bulk of their incomes. The guests should have tipped you. But I was also a customer. I was trying to dine with my young daughter and your feelings of anxiety and resentment should not have been displayed this way in front of her. It was simply not a decent thing to do. I tipped you regardless. Not because you scared me. Not because you shamed others. We tipped because it is right to do. But never will we ever come back. NEVER. And about our service and lunch...... It was the poorest quality walleye sandwich I ever had. The sweet potatoes fries were actually burned. The sandwich which offered a 3" by 3" filet was also cooked beyond recognition. It seemed like the entire plate had been cooked prior and reheated. Just the worst. Service? Thanks, for bringing the sandwiches. You never refilled drinks and you took forever to bring the check. Honestly, we wanted the check so we could leave as soon as possible.

We stopped by for breakfast on our trip to Two Harbors. It was a Sunday morning and they were busy! The cafe is quite small so social distancing is challenging, but they're doing their best with every other table closed off. All of the staff had masks on but I did notice a few of them touched their masks quite frequently without washing or sanitizing before going back to serving. I did not seeing anyone wearing gloves. The food was decent. I enjoyed the Scandinavian Breakfast, my husband had the eggs Benedict, and our girls, the chocolate chip pancakes. I thought the portions were a bit small for the price . But was grateful for hot coffee and a place to sit with the family.

Breakfast here was super tasty with me getting the Swedish pancakes and my husband getting the eggs. We both got pork sausage which the restaurant makes themselves, it's got some kick to it but great flavor. Server was lovely and an all around good experience. We were the only people in the restaurant so it wasn't busy.

Stopped in for a quick breakfast right away in the morning - and we were pleasantly surprised. Got the Swedish breakfast and the Popeyes omelette and both were super good. The homemade jam was delicious. Service was great (thanks Leah!), and as far as CoVid goes for those of you wondering, they were masked up, spacing tables, and alternating for capacity. Definitely a must stop!

I am writing while I wait for a cup of porridge. The start was good. A brief moment of distraction. I stopped at another cafe and they watered the restroom soap down so much, I could not get a lather. I asked for a different soap and was told no. Perhaps they deserve a yelp review; I am not sure. Back to the VB. I asked for pecans and I got them on a homemade sweet roll and it was divine. There were a lot of pecans and they were not stale. Such expectations! The porridge was seeming to take a bit long. When it arrived, I must say the cup said 'eat me'. It looked great! It was served with an english muffin and a strawberry rhubarb? jalapeno spread. The porridge was a wild rice, creamy delight with cranberries. Porridge is something I often don't finish; not here. The bread spread was underwhelming next to the porridge. The reason is the fruit flavors were not concentrated enough in the preparation. The service was great. I wanted to sit outside; the hostess said no. I might have been sweating bullets with the porridge, so it was okay.

We loved brunch at Vanilla Bean, we were seated and served immediately. Our server Jana was very kind and quick at helping us. We got North Shore Huevos Rancheros, Castle Danger Hash, and Walleye Eggs Benedict. The huevos rancheros was a very filling & yummy vegetarian dish and had a layer of potatoes with refried beans, cheese, egg, guacamole. We're usually hash brown people for the crispy aspect but the home-fried potatoes were very crispy and delicious so highly recommend, we ended up getting an extra side to share. The Castle Danger was a tasty hash as the corned beef was locally braised with Castle Danger beer. The walleye eggs Benedict was also very good and everything worked well together, the hollandaise sauce complimented the walleye without overwhelming it. All the dishes had eggs which were perfectly cooked to our preferences. We are all very full and happy, we will definitely come back next time we're in town.

Took a chance despite reading a couple bad reviews. No idea what the issue was for others. The wait was a bit, but they were pretty accurate with their waiting times. The service was super friendly and fast. The food was served quickly, exactly as ordered, and was quite a solid standard breakfast. Didn't order anything exciting - classic breakfast and chicken fried steak and eggs. But all was good. Not greasy at all. And the homemade jelly was great.

Vanilla Bean is what I would expect for Duluth. It's cozy, quaint, and super cute. I've passed this place on several occasions heading north. I thought they were an ice cream shop...I'm pretty sure it has the "cafe" clearly on their sign. Oops. My boyfriend and I were on a mission to get a quick breakfast so we could get on a trail early before the sun came out and burned our asses. We thought we could grab sandwiches here, but when we walked in it looked so inviting we decided to sit and enjoy a nice breakfast. There was one server, this worried me since the place had about 6 tables already and people walking in for coffee every 10 minutes. It turned out to be no issue at all. Our server was fast, friendly, and efficient. I LOVED the wooden tables. They had little imprints of screws and horse shoes. I've never seen tables like that before. We were seated by the window facing the street. The window ledges had basil and other herbs I think, and flowers. It was darling. I feel like a little old lady saying that, but that's what comes to mind. We ordered an omelet with Gouda cheese, and a classic breakfast dish with eggs, hash browns, turkey sausage, and pancakes. The omelet was really flavorful, the cheese enhanced the mildness of the eggs and other additions in the omelet. I ordered poached eggs, they were cooked perfectly. The hash browns were crispy/crunchy, with the middle nicely gooey. The star for me was the house made berry jam. Next time I head north I need to ask if they sell that stuff in a jar. If not, I'm going to beg them to sell me a to-go container filled with that delicious jam. I will definitely be back.

We appreciate that this place is open early on a Sunday morning! I go the Berry White Mocha (espresso w/ steamed milk, Ghirardelli white chocolate, raspberry syrup, topped w/ whipped cream). Tasty, definitely a strong berry flavor (though more of a berry syrup flavor, expectedly). They did not have a bakery/cafe as we hoped, unfortunately. Only a sit-down restaurant. They also have a cute little shop-like area with some mugs, clothing, and snacks.

TLDR: Good food, awful service. Never going back. The food was great, but I would have had breakfast faster by driving 20 miles into Duluth and going anywhere else. Most people in the restaurant were looking around for the server who couldn't be found to take orders or collect bills.

I wanted to like this place more than I did, but I should have listened to the stars already posted for this place and lowered my expectations. The food was decent, don't get me wrong, but it definitely lacked a little something... I ordered the wild rice porridge and the huevos rancheros plate. The porridge was actually much better than I expected, and was my favorite part of the meal. The huevos needed more seasoning. The guac on top definitely tasted like it came out of a tube rather than freshly made. The whole dish also came out a little on the cold side. Poor execution, considering I was the only person in my party; that should have made the timing pretty easy. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this place if you have another option available (I was dining pretty early in the morning and my choices were limited for a sit-down meal). But, if you do end up eating there, just lower your expectations, and you should have a fine time. :)

This is mixed review as my wife wasn't happy with her order but I was really happy with mine. I will describe my wife's order first and then mine. The biggest issue with my wife's order was it was not anywhere near what it was described on the menu and because of that, she had part of mine and was still hungry afterwards. She ordered crepes and it was described as plate sized crepes. What she got was three pieces about the size of my phone and a 1/4 of that thick. Not very big at all so she was not happy and when they dropped it off, I was half expecting there to be another plate brought out thinking that they couldn't carry everything out with what I ordered. Wasn't the case and she wasn't really happy. What I ordered on the other hand was awesome. I got an omelette that was 3/4 the size of the plate sitting on a half plate of hash-browns with toast. Tasted great and everything was cooked just right. I was extremely happy with mine but my wife ended up eating my toast and part of the eggs and hash-browns. I think if she had ordered something else, this would have been a 5 star review for sure but she did leave hungry and it wasn't really described real well. She's had crepes at other places that have come out plate sized and was expecting that. We will be back there on our next visit through the area though, she'll just be ordering something else.

Great, cooked from scratch breakfast. Which I'm guessing accounts for some of the low reviews from people. They must be use to ordering their food by speaking into a clown at the drive thru. I had the omelet and the wife eggs & potatoes. It comes out a little slow but it's worth it. Service was good, they were still a little busy even though we caught the end of the Bfast run.

Great stop for breakfast on the way to Lutsen. Surprised to see numerous vegetarian and vegan options, like the impossible burger, on their menu. Hometown, family environment. Good food and friendly service.

Coffee was old an had a burn taste. Got to go so I didn't get a chance to try to be my money back. Never again!

There is room for improvement with customer service. The place is cozy and family friendly. Overall food is okay. Nothing outstanding.

This place is incredible!! We came in after spending a day at Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock Lighthouse. Allie was a gem and let my husband know, that since he was a veteran, his meal would be free. Allow me to say, I would have gladly paid for this meal, two times over. Yes, it was THAT good! We had the walleye cakes (OMG), I had one of their famous oven baked omelettes (The Popeye) and my husband had the North Woods Classic breakfast. Honestly, I can't say enough good things about this meal, the atmosphere and the service. Oh, and make sure to try the apple cider! Did I mention Allie was awesome?!?! Great discovery and will definitely be back whenever we come back to the Duluth area.

Best food ever! Went online yesterday looking for a place for breakfast. Saw this and thought we would give it a try. So glad we did! Came back again today. If your ever in Two Harbors you must stop here!!